Adding Cedar Siding over Exisiting Siding

Adding wood siding will dramatically improve
the look our your old house. Depending on the type of wood and
finish you choose, you should expect to get 25 years or more of service
from adding wood siding. While it takes time to get the first
course started, you can cover a large are in a short period of
time.

Observe power tool safety, eye and ear protection.
Do not nail within 1" along the direction of the grain to avoid
splitting.
Prefinish the siding before installing.

Level of difficulty

Time Required:

8 hour

Steps

Starter course

Step 1:

Check and nail any loose old siding. The new siding begins with
the bottom course and must be planned for the entire house. Using a line
level and chalk line, snap a line around the entire perimeter around eye
level Measure down to identify the variations in the edge of of the
existing siding.

Siding selection from the stock pile

Step 2:

Select through the stock for even wood tone. Look out for splits
and uneven end cuts. Mark the "bad" sections and use this
for shorter pieces between windows and doors.

Mark length to cut

Step 3:

Transfer the measurement between the the perimeter trim boards to the
siding. Try to keep cuts to within 1/16" accuracy. On a warm
day, the board should just fit, whereas on a cold day, undersize the
siding by 1/8" allow for 1/16" expansion on each end.

Mark square line for cutting

Step 4:

The cedar used here is about 8" wide with a nominal 6"
reveal. Most power miter boxes are not large enough so you will need to
mark a cut line using a speed square.